CreatripTeam

Kkanbu Chicken, a Korean fried-chicken franchise that drew huge attention after hosting a 'chimaek' (chicken + beer) meetup featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung's Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai's Chung Eui-sun, has paused new franchise consultations. The company said it will focus on quality, hygiene, service and protecting existing franchisees rather than rapid expansion. Interest surged after the meetup and Kkanbu released an 'AI Kkanbu' set replicating the leaders' meal, donating 10% of sales to charity. Some stores struggled with demand—one Suji branch temporarily closed for 1–2 days—and the Samsung-dong location limited table use to one hour to manage visitor pilgrimages to the site.